Annapolis, 1794

Historical narrative

Based on a watercolor painting by Charles Cotton Milbourne, this oil painting depicts a remarkable view of Annapolis in 1794, capturing Maryland’s capital during the early years of the new American republic. The large brick building at center is St. Anne’s Church, completed in 1792 after construction was delayed by the Revolutionary War. Behind it rises the distinctive dome of the Maryland State House, completed in 1779 and already famous as the place where George Washington resigned his military commission in 1783 and where the Continental Congress ratified the Treaty of Paris in 1784. The surrounding buildings reflect Annapolis’s prosperity and elegant Georgian architecture, including substantial town houses near Church Circle. The scene also reveals a much less developed city, with broad open ground, dirt paths, horses, and pedestrians surrounding its principal landmarks.

Oil

© Stephen B. Hales — All Rights Reserved